Minnesota, murder and Martin Freeman are coming to Channel 4 with the news that the broadcaster has picked up the UK rights to American drama series Fargo, based on the Coen brothers’ Oscar-winning 1996 blackly comic crime drama film of the same name.

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Sherlock and The Hobbit star Freeman plays small town insurance salesman Lester Nygaard, whose life changes for ever when he crosses paths with Billy Bob Thornton’s manipulative drifter Lorne Malvo.

Meanwhile, Bob Odenkirk – known to fans of Breaking Bad as shyster lawyer Saul Goodman – stars as a police deputy, alongside fellow law officers played by Colin Hanks, son of Hollywood A-lister Tom, and Allison Tolman.

Lovers of the original cult movie will be pleased to hear that Joel and Ethan Coen are executive producers on the series, which is penned by novelist and screen writer Noah Hawley and aims to retain the amusingly courteous and reserved “Minnesota nice” outlook of its characters.

The ten-part series premieres in the US on FX in April and will come to Channel 4 soon afterwards.